March 13, 2013

Staff pick: Shrubs Large and Small by Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris

Reviewed by Kathryn Caras, Director of Electronic and Serials Publishing

I
own a solace shut within my heart,A garden full of many a quaint delightAnd warm with drowsy, poppied sunshine;
bright,Flaming
with lilies out of whose cups dartShining thingsWith powdered wings.

—Amy
Lowell, "Behind a Wall"

There is no better time for a gardener than spring with its
promise of regeneration and renewal. As
Rachel Carson said, "There is something infinitely healing in the repeated
refrains of nature—that assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after
winter." And what better herald for spring this year than the publication of Shrubs Large and Small: Natives and Ornamentals for Midwest Gardens,
the latest offering from the team of Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris?

Shrubs Large and Small is filled with
practical advice on what shrubs to plant among your perennials and how to
choose woody shrubs to help determine your garden’s architecture, to achieve
blooming throughout the season, and to add interest to the winter garden. Also
included are sections on selecting shrubs; shrubs that attract wildlife,
especially birds; and bringing flowers indoors, focusing on, among other
topics, forcing branches, the characteristics of American arrangements, and a
monthly sequence of materials provided by the shrub garden for arrangements.

The volume
showcases 20 of the authors' favorite shrubs and describes other
garden-worthy varieties. Many, referred
to as "natives," occur naturally east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio
rivers and from Minnesota to Arkansas. Others are imports from temperate
regions around the world. All are ideal for growing in the Midwest. Included
are viburnum, syringa, paeonia, ilex, cornus, and witch-hazel, among others.

Shrubs Large and Small is beautifully
illustrated by Gillian Harris, a natural science illustrator and an Indiana
Master Naturalist. Her botanically
correct, four-color drawings are scattered throughout the book, and illustrations
of the 20 "favorite" native and native deciduous shrubs are included in a section
entitled "Gallery." All are true works of art and make this not just a useful
and essential book for the gardener, but a book that can be treasured for its
beauty alone.

Shrubs Large and Small complements
Andrews's and Harris's previous book Perennials Short and
Tall: A Seasonal Progression of Plants for Your Garden, which offers
advice on keeping your garden in bloom, chapters on each of the three growing
seasons, and profiles of 25 varieties of flowers, together with color illustrations. As a set or individually, these books make a
wonderful gift for you and the gardeners in your life.

Comments

Staff pick: Shrubs Large and Small by Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris

Reviewed by Kathryn Caras, Director of Electronic and Serials Publishing

I
own a solace shut within my heart,A garden full of many a quaint delightAnd warm with drowsy, poppied sunshine;
bright,Flaming
with lilies out of whose cups dartShining thingsWith powdered wings.

—Amy
Lowell, "Behind a Wall"

There is no better time for a gardener than spring with its
promise of regeneration and renewal. As
Rachel Carson said, "There is something infinitely healing in the repeated
refrains of nature—that assurance that dawn comes after night, and spring after
winter." And what better herald for spring this year than the publication of Shrubs Large and Small: Natives and Ornamentals for Midwest Gardens,
the latest offering from the team of Moya L. Andrews and Gillian Harris?

Shrubs Large and Small is filled with
practical advice on what shrubs to plant among your perennials and how to
choose woody shrubs to help determine your garden’s architecture, to achieve
blooming throughout the season, and to add interest to the winter garden. Also
included are sections on selecting shrubs; shrubs that attract wildlife,
especially birds; and bringing flowers indoors, focusing on, among other
topics, forcing branches, the characteristics of American arrangements, and a
monthly sequence of materials provided by the shrub garden for arrangements.

The volume
showcases 20 of the authors' favorite shrubs and describes other
garden-worthy varieties. Many, referred
to as "natives," occur naturally east of the Mississippi and north of the Ohio
rivers and from Minnesota to Arkansas. Others are imports from temperate
regions around the world. All are ideal for growing in the Midwest. Included
are viburnum, syringa, paeonia, ilex, cornus, and witch-hazel, among others.

Shrubs Large and Small is beautifully
illustrated by Gillian Harris, a natural science illustrator and an Indiana
Master Naturalist. Her botanically
correct, four-color drawings are scattered throughout the book, and illustrations
of the 20 "favorite" native and native deciduous shrubs are included in a section
entitled "Gallery." All are true works of art and make this not just a useful
and essential book for the gardener, but a book that can be treasured for its
beauty alone.

Shrubs Large and Small complements
Andrews's and Harris's previous book Perennials Short and
Tall: A Seasonal Progression of Plants for Your Garden, which offers
advice on keeping your garden in bloom, chapters on each of the three growing
seasons, and profiles of 25 varieties of flowers, together with color illustrations. As a set or individually, these books make a
wonderful gift for you and the gardeners in your life.